President

Jon Wellinghoff, whose term as FERC Chairman is due to expire June 30, has submitted a letter of resignation to President Obama, a spokesman said Wednesday.

James J. Kleckner has been promoted to executive vice president of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s international and deepwater operations and will join the executive committee, replacing Doug Lawler, who is to become CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp. (see Daily GPI, May 21). Kleckner has been running Anadarko’s Rockies division, and the promotion “is a reflection of his global operational skills,” as well as his “instrumental role in the phenomenal growth of the Wattenberg field in Colorado and the Greater Natural Buttes area in Utah,” said CEO Al Walker. Kleckner, a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, began his career in 1981 with Sun Oil Co. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Petroleum Institute.

Range Resources Corp.’s Marcellus Shale leasehold has the potential to produce up to 8 Bcf/d, an executive said last week.

Range Resources Corp. has the potential to produce up to 8 Bcf/d from the Marcellus Shale, an executive said Tuesday.

The Senate unanimously confirmed Ernest J. Moniz as the next secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) last Thursday, succeeding Steven Chu, who oversaw the department during President Obama’s first term.

The Senate Thursday unanimously confirmed Ernest J. Moniz as the next secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE), succeeding Steven Chu, who oversaw the department during President Obama’s first term.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP has signed a long-term contract to support the expansion of its Sweeny Lateral pipeline, which it is building from the Kinder Morgan Crude Condensate pipeline to Phillip 66’s Sweeny Refinery in Brazoria County, TX. The expansion will increase the capacity on the 27-mile, 12-inch diameter lateral from an initial 30,000 b/d to 100,000 b/d. Kinder Morgan will add new pumps and an additional 120,000 bbl storage tank at its Wharton Pump Station in Wharton County, TX, and increase the truck offload capabilities at its DeWitt Station in DeWitt, County, TX. “We are pleased to provide Phillips 66 with a flexible option to move more crude and condensate out of the Eagle Ford Shale to their refinery in Sweeny,” said KMP Products Pipelines President Ron McClain. Kinder Morgan’s crude/condensate pipeline, which went into service last June, transports crude/condensate from the Eagle Ford to the Houston Ship Channel.

President Obama Monday tapped Anthony Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, NC, to succeed Ray LaHood as secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT), which oversees the safety of the nation’s natural gas and hazardous pipeline infrastructure, as well as roads, airports and railways.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is trying to block a Senate vote on President Obama’s pick to head the Department of Energy as a protest to proposed budget cuts to a nuclear processing facility in his home state.